Comcast Rolling out Its DOCSIS 3.1 Internet Service in 5 New US Cities

Comcast announced on February, 02 that it is planning to deliver its superfast DOCSIS 3.1 Internet service, which will deliver gigabit-like speeds without the pain of major installation.

Initially the nation’s largest internet service provider will be rolling out its new DOCSIS 3.1 internet service to residential and business customers in Nashville and Atlanta early this year followed by Chicago, Detroit, and Miami in the second half of the year. The company plans to deliver its service to 55 million users of the 40 states within the next two years. However, they will be using its existing cable infrastructure instead of laying down new fiber-optic lines like Google and AT&T. Which means Comcast can roll out its internet service to more end users faster and cheaper.

A specification developed by the Colorado-based CableLabs consortium, DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification) was first released in 1997. The latest version, 3.1, came out in late 2013 and has been updated several times since then.

"There is a lot of excitement around DOCSIS 3.1 technology, and the new capabilities it brings to cable networks for both cable operators and their customers," said CableLabs in a statement on their Web site. "DOCSIS 3.1 specifications support up to 10 Gbps downstream and 1 Gbps upstream of network capacity."

Comcast did not mention anything about the pricing for the DOCSIS 3.1 service, but we can guess that it will be cheaper than Gigabit Pro service.

"We're constantly working to ensure that our customers get the fastest speeds available and that they get them first," said Comcast Central Division President Bill Connors in a briefing. "DOCSIS 3.1 represents a tremendous step forward in our commitment to keeping customers at the technology forefront.

"Combined with all the upgrades we have already put into our advanced fiber optic-coax network, this technology will not only provide more gigabit speed choices for customers, it will also eventually make these ultra-fast speeds available to the most homes in our service areas," Connors said.

AVG Web TuneUp Exposes Users' Personal Data

AVG Web TuneUp Exposes Users’ Personal Data 

Google has found a serious security flaw in AVG’s web extension called ‘Web TuneUp’, 

Forcing AVG to update its web extension. Google says that the extension overrides Google Chrome browser’s built-in safety features.

‘Web TuneUp’ is a browser add-on provided by AVG to protect its users from web’s hidden threats such as Malware sites, which it does by comparing them against AVG’s own Database. Web TuneUp is provided for free by AVG, users can download it from Chrome Web Store. It also comes as a bundle with AVG’s Antivirus software.

In December Google’s security research team found that the web extension is ignoring Chrome’s security features, which led to nine million of Chrome user’s personal data including their internet history being leaked to the internet. Google’s security researcher Travis Ormandy also said that the tool is leaving users vulnerable to being spied on by hackers, by exposing their email content and web habit.

On mid-December. Google’s security analyst Travis Ormandy sent what he described as an “angry e-mail”, to the security firm that called the AVG’s web extension “trash”. He  suggested AVG bypassed Chrome’s security settings in order to “hijack search setting and the new tab page”, adding that fixing it should be your topmost priority.

“This extension is so badly broken that I’m not sure whether I should be reporting it as a vulnerability, or asking the extension abuse team to investigate if it’s a PUP [potentially unwanted program]”, Ormandy wrote to AVG.

In response to Google’s complaint AVG released a broken patch on December, 19, which Google immediately rejected. A second effort on December, 28 was more successful, which is a little too late for Google’s likings.

Facebook Live Streaming is now available for Verified Pages

Facebook Live Streaming 

Facebook is testing a new feature called ‘Live’, which will enable its users to broadcast live videos from their smartphone. Friends and family members will be seeing as it's happening.

The social network first launched Live in August 2015 for selected public figure. Since then, it was used by many politicians, musicians, athletes, and other influencers to connect with their fans and audiences real time using the Facebook Mentions app.

Now it can be used by any verified accounts to make announcements, share breaking news and updates, take fans behind the scenes, host Q&A, and more. The social network until now didn’t specify when it will be available for all users.

To share live video, visit your page on Facebook Page for iOS, tap Publish, and select Live Video. During the broadcast, you'll see the number of viewers—consisting the name of other verified pages or people--and a real-time stream of comments. After the session is over, the complete video will be saved on your timeline and will stay there unless you choose to remove them.

Your Facebook follower can find your recent live videos on their newsfeed. While watching live videos they can hit subscribe on the top right-hand corner of live videos, to get notified next time the page goes live.

For more tips on live-streaming your life visit Facebook’s Best Practices.